PIN SITE INFECTIONS!

We’ve had a bad week! It started last Saturday when I was doing Ava’s weekly pin site cleaning.  Of the 16 open wounds going into Ava’s leg, 4 of them were oozing liquid and the skin in between others had burst (almost resembling a burst sausage skin). The smell was also unpleasant- like rotten meat. Sorry to sound so graphic but things didn’t seem right.

I started giving Ava the penicillin we’d been discharged with from hospital as this showed all the signs of an infection. Ava went to school with painkillers but by Tuesday her foot and lower leg were badly swollen. On Wednesday I called the hospital who wanted to see her the following day. When they saw her foot and leg a Dr and wound specialist were called who wanted to admit her to hospital due to the severity of the infection. This would be to monitor her and hook her up to IV penicillin.

Ava was hysterical - the fact she would be returning to hospital but also because the nurses had to clean the infected wounds. Thankfully we have managed to avoid the hospital stay on the condition that she keeps her foot elevated for the next few days and we monitor the swelling. She has also been prescribed some super strength Penicillin for the next 14 days.

The good news is that today the swelling has already reduced considerably. The Drs have draw on Ava’s foot to monitor the swelling and how it reduces (see images).

This weekend will be about rest and continued foot elevation. This is a particularly low point for Ava as under normal circumstances with no surgery/frame she would be away camping this weekend with her friends. Not only is she not doing that but she is on strict instructions not to move anywhere.

Here’s to a better week next week. We’re all counting down until the frame is off!

More Correction/Current X-ray

Ava has now completed 2 weeks back at school with a frame. The school have been great and have moved all of Ava’s classes downstairs. They have also made other provisions such as allowing Ava to leave lessons early to navigate the corridors to her next class before the other kids, and setting up a room for her and her friends to use at break time. 

Generally Ava is more settled. She has the odd moments of frustration but on the whole is coping well. She is keen to understand when the frame can be removed but we have not been given a definite date. This all depends upon how quickly the various breaks in her bones heal. This could be anytime between the next 6-8 weeks. Ava will then go into plaster cast followed by a walking cast boot.

Her foot and leg are still incredibly swollen and the various wounds are oozing a bit. I’m cleaning them regularly with the hospital prescribed equipment but they are quite sore and painful. Hopefully as the correction has finished they will start to scab over as we don’t want Ava picking up any infections.

To give you another view of how well the treatment has worked look at the X-rays below.

Will update again after next hospital appointment. 

Correction complete/School begins

We’ve come to the end of the second programme of correction. As you’ll see from the photos below it’s working!

The first programme was to open the breaks in Ava’s bones - the leg break, the ankle break and the breaks along her foot. The second programme has been to move/rotate these breaks in bone (1mm per day) to eventual correction.

The school holidays have been long and very frustrating for Ava. She started them in a lot of pain but this has gradually reduced to more discomfort. Ava is also sleeping much better and on most days sleeping through. She has been very restricted on what she can do and we have relied on friends coming over and watching films. When we have ventured out the frame obviously draws a lot of attention. Lots of stares which Ava finds difficult but on the whole people look and then ask what’s happened. We’d all far rather that than people just gawping (which a few have no shame in doing).

Ava is due to go back to school on Wednesday which she is incredibly nervous about. The school have already made provisions and moved all of Ava’s lessons to ground floor classrooms. She also plans to leave each lesson 10 minutes early so she can navigate the corridors with no other kids around (she is still on crutches and non weight bearing). We’ll have to see how this goes. Ava is understandably nervous about other kids reactions and any potential teasing. Hopefully this is all positive as she has been through a lot so far both physically and mentally. Fingers crossed it all works out ok.

Before school on Wednesday we are due at hospital at 8am. The consultant is going to make a decision as to whether he creates a third programme to improve the foot positioning even more. He is doing this as Ava has been able to tolerate the pain with medication and feels he can improve things more. We’ll have to see what the outcome is on Wednesday.

More to follow on life back at secondary school with a frame on.